State supermarket shoppers have seen a little bit of relief in their pocketbooks during the fourth quarter of the year. The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation released its latest Marketbasket Survey on Friday, which showed that the average price of 16 basic food items in 30 communities totalled $49.34 during the
final three months of 2012. That was down 26 cents from three months earlier, but was around two percent more than year-ago price averages.

"The uneventful year marked a stark difference from the volatility of the last couple years," Langan said. "Looking forward, expected tighter supplies of meat and dairy products could result in higher prices this year."

The report showed that about half of the 16 items went down in price, such as all-purpose flour, bacon, and Russet potatoes. Items that saw the greatest increases in price included white bread and whole milk, which increased seven percent from $3.42 to 3.68 per gallon.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin' Marketbasket report was about $1.20 less than the American Farm Bureau Federation's national survey of the same items. AFBF's report rang in at $50.54. Despite the lower overall price, four of the 16 items recently surveyed in Wisconsin were higher than the national average: shredded
mild cheddar cheese, boneless chicken breast, vegetable oil and ground chuck.